Ill Winds: Air Force Reserve's Response to Hurricanes

Air Force Reserve’s
2005 Hurricane Operations Timeline
23 Aug 05 The 53 rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron’s (WRS) (Keesler AFB, MS)
WC-130 (Hurricane Hunter) aircraft made its initial entry into the storm to
gather weather data as Hurricane Katrina neared the Florida coast. 1
25 Aug 05 Katrina made landfall just south of Fort Lauderdale along the southeast
Florida coast as a Category 1 hurricane. Winds at landfall north of Miami
were 80 mph. Katrina was blamed for 9 deaths in Florida. After coming
ashore, Katrina cut southwestward across southern Florida. The relatively
short amount of time the center spent over land combined with the wet
marshy composition of the Florida everglades kept Katrina from
weakening significantly. As a result, Katrina quickly regained hurricane
status after emerging into the Gulf of Mexico, becoming a Category 1
storm on the morning of August 26. 2
25 Aug 05 The 53 rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron’s (WRS) performed an
additional sortie into the Hurricane as Katrina gathered strength and
pushed westward into the Gulf. The aircraft originated out of Key West,
FL, and reconstituted back to Keesler AFB, MS. 3
1 Email (U), 403 rd WG (Keesler AFB, MS) Public Affairs (TSgt James Pritchett) to HQ AFRC (Robins
AFB, GA) History Office (Eugene Vandeventer), “Additional Assistance,” 1 Dec 05.
2 Web page (U), NASA, “Katrina Intensifies into a Powerful Hurricane, Strikes Northern Gulf Coast,”
available at http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/katrina_trmm_0828_0829.html on 28 Oct 05;
Web page (U), NOAA Satellite Information Service, “Summary of Hurricane Katrina,” available at
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2005/katrina.html on 28 Oct 05.
3 Email (U), 403 rd WG (Keesler AFB, MS) Public Affairs (TSgt James Pritchett) to HQ AFRC (Robins
AFB, GA) History Office (Eugene Vandeventer), “Additional Assistance,” 1 Dec 05.